[Apex1815]

Sir, you are already aware that Indian market commands 28% GST rate on cars which is followed by a high road tax in some states like Karnataka (15% Road Tax).

Further the luxury car you might be considering may attract some additional taxes. By the time you make decision to buy a car in India you are mentally prepared that a considerable amount you will be paying not for the value of car but as Taxes to the govt.

Now, this scrapping after 15 yrs is an additional cost which you will have to absorb at the End of Life of the vehicle. Earlier you could fetch around 10% of the car value by selling it after 15 yrs, now it will be only 2% considering the scrap value of metal.

So the Cost burden is from 360 degree:
- Heavy Taxes while buying the car
- Heavy Taxes while using the car (VAT etc on Fuel)
- Neglibile value after 15 yrs.

I suggest subtracting the loss of resale value from the overall budget and then arrive at a figure to spend on a car. I think with this illogical point one can save a few lacs.

[Zinda]

My 2 cents -
How sensible it is to purchase a 15 years old car today? How much value does it retain?
The higher segment a car belongs to, the lesser value it tends to retain. An 8-10 years old S-class can be bought for barely 10-12 L or a little more. And there are hardly any takers for 15 years old S class. The car being terribly outdated is another downer altogether.

Likewise for any luxury / premium car purchased today what value will it offer 15 years down the line?

My take - buy a car you want and you can afford today. Enjoy it at the fullest because 15 years later neither the car will hold its value, nor you will have the same energy.

[VellVector]

Originally Posted by princey

So, the dilemma is , does it actually make sense in purchasing an expensive car only to loose much in value over the years and sell it at a considerable loss after 6 or 7 years ?

I don't think this is an issue related to scrappage as much as the realities of how luxury cars depreciate. Very few buyers of these kind of cars would hold onto them for a 15 year period.

In India from what I've seen especially amongst business families (who make up a significant portion of the luxe car buyers), the 5 year mark is a limit to get rid of a car and get a new one. Which is why resale value also significantly drops post this age since the supply rapidly increases.

So you need to figure out if you are ok spending so much money to own a luxury car. If not another fortuner would probably be the way to go.

[DevendraG]

I believe most expensive cars are business owned and the value is recovered within 3-5 years and then these owners jump to another expensive car. I don’t believe the ban impacts them much.

For regular buyers, if the expensive car isn’t an impulsive purchase, 15 year usage is good enough time (most would use it for longer periods) to recover your initial expense + resale value in another state.

Once your income, lifestyle changes, a couple of lacs here and there after 15 years ain’t going to pinch the person.

Most expensive buys are from heart, not head.

[princey]

Originally Posted by VellVector

So you need to figure out if you are ok spending so much money to own a luxury car. If not another fortuner would probably be the way to go.

Thank you all for your valuable advice and inputs.
Basically, will home on to a suitable steed till the time the all new Fortuner makes an appearance here.

[vinya_jag]

I would say, Avoid
Specially for a state like HP, which is already bustling with cars and Taxis from all across the North. I don’t think there are enough roads there to enjoy your big expensive car. (I might be totally wrong with my little experience travelling in HP).
If you see the last 15 years, car usage has outgrown the road building by a great factor. And I’m sure history would repeat itself in the next 15, and with this kind of tourism and over utilisation of public roads, a big car in 2035 will not be enjoyable at all.

[Tourer]

Originally Posted by efgritesh

Just wondering if EV also needs to be replaced by 15 years rule? I am aware that most EV battery may not last long which is a major component of EV cost, but from pollution perspective a brand new EV vs an 15 year OLD EV wont make any difference, isn't it.

You never know. All electrical appliances, with time, move towards better efficiency and star rating. Star ratings themselves get revised every year.

[humyum]

Don't worry, the one's who are sold to big corporates wont be around by the time the 10 or 15 years rules are near.

Buy whatever makes you happy, whatever you yearn for, you live one life right?

If you don't live today, whats the point of that tomorrow which has no fond memories of that yesterday?

[L8ButV8]

The 15 year bans won't affect the resale value of luxury cars. Most barely reach 15 years, and their resale value tanks.

In NCR, a 10 year old Audi A8/BMW 7 series (1-1.2Cr new) E class (50L new), Innova (20L new) all sell for roughly the same price. Extending to 15 years, there is little to no demand for luxury cars from 2009.

On the other hand, a 10 year ban is quite disastrous to resale value. Most of these cars make it to 10 years comfortably.

[i74js]

I fail to understand this whole 10 year and 15-year policy. Case in point I bought a Punto BS IV in 2013 and BS IV norms ceased on 31 December 2000 (Delhi).

My car cannot run after 2023 with BS IV compliance whereas a car purchased in December 2000 with BS IV can run until 2030. I am not able to understand the rationale.

[mercedised]

The root of the problem are copy and paste policies. Have a look at Energy star rating of electronic products the whole concept is lifted and copied word by word from USA energy ratings. Same happens for every field. I heard Mr Gadkari asking his officials to find safest Hydrogen manufacturing practices and copy them. We donot do research, just copy and paste laws without having studied their implications as per Indian conditions. Nobody checks if the roads are worthy of the vehicles or not. Laws are dictated by corporate cartels.

[Maddy9711]

The sad part is that if you look at this rule then you actually never own a car as you are just renting it from the government for 15 years. Although the kind of cars which companies are making and the kind of roads which we have one will feel the need to replace the car somewhere around 15 years mark but that will be his own choice to do it or not but when some external authority forces me to replace my vehicle that is not fair.

[marinerandy]

IMHO nowadays the cars with jungle of electronics are not being built to last that long (not on the mechanical front). I sincerely dread the day when any manufacturer can disable the car remotely on government's order. Gone are the days when cars came with bare minimum electronics and bare minimum worries. And now the budget cars inching their engine horses and torque to the more premium cars, the only differentiang factor in coming future will be the badge and driving dynamics. Also the growing purchasing power in middle class will keep on driving the expensive car market. The amount of discounts on expensive cars will keep on rolling and so does the expensive cars from the showrooms!

[hellblack]

It was only a week ago when I asked myself if it is even worth buying expensive cars given the short life of these vehicles in the NCR region. I am not saying that 15 years is a short time, but these machines are built to last much longer than that.

I was looking for an upgrade and considered, amongst others, the E200, Q5, Q7, Lexus ES and what not. I was quite sure about the E200 but that's when I asked myself this question - is it really worth it given the 15-year life to buy a 70L+ car? That's a pretty high ownership cost even if you don't include any of the other expenses.

That is when I pivoted my search and started looking at electric options. I personally did not like the options from "luxury brands", but I loved the BYD Seal, the IONIQ 5 and the Kia EV6 - in that order. However, a quick walk-around and 2 YouTube reviews on Seal were enough to reject the idea because of the real poor ground clearance (it will probably touch the floor before entering my parking).

IONIQ 5 and EV6 both seemed like the perfect cars - feature rich, value for money, CRAZY POWER, and great range. But this was again short lived when I went for dinner at my neighborhood Haldiram's after a test drive of the EV6 and saw a Creta parked in front of the EV charging station, and the parking staff looking for the owner of the Creta and the Nexon EV just waiting. Even though I will mostly be charging at a place where this will not happen, the poor civic sense made me decide against getting an EV - at least for now.

Now the only thing that made sense to me was a middle ground - a not-so-expensive ICE vehicle (subjective of course), and I took delivery of a pre-owned barely driven GLA 200 today. It cost me half of what I was initially looking at, cost me less mental capacity, plus I can upgrade my i20 to an EV earlier than I had initially planned (Look at me planning my next purchase before I finalize the current one.)

Now coming to the main question - is it sensible to buy expensive cars?
I think no. I realized that the question - is it worth it? - only came to me when I was stretching my budget but as soon as the expenditure came down from 70-80L to 40L, it wasn't as big a deal.

I'd say if the car is really expensive for you, it is probably not the best time to spend so much money on an ICE vehicle, at least in the NCR region given the fast changes and the uncertainty (is electric the future? Will hydrogen rule the future?). If you still want power and peace of mind, the IONIQ 5 is a great car right at the starting price range of Audi, Merc, BMW. If you cannot live without that exhaust sound, ask yourself how much you are comfortable spending without worrying about its future resale value, and then look for options within that budget.

The answer for me was ~40L and I wanted a Merc so pre-owned looked like the best available option. I was lucky to find a great deal and find it quickly.

[mack.mehul]

I am totally against these laws which ban using 10 year old diesel or 15 year old petrol vehicles or compulsory scrapping after 15 years. I have seen absolutely perfect running diesel cars being sold by the car owners just because its about to be 10 years old. This compulsory and unnecessary selling of old cars is nothing but a government and car manufacturers nexus to keep car sales high.

However just because of this rule i have not seen anyone in Delhi shying away from buying expensive cars. The one who can afford luxury vehicles costing 50 lakhs and above are still buying it. These days most of the german luxury car makers have stopped selling diesel and coupled with the fact people generally change their cars after 10-12 years due to new models & facelifts & new tech, thus if you have budget to purchase a luxury car, you should go ahead & buy it.